TribLive stories, Page 1854
Hampton student qualifies for state geography bee, finals will be held online due to outbreakVideo
Rowan Clary, an eighth-grader from Hampton school district, has qualified for the National Geographic Geography Bee at the state-level. She was one of 100 students across Pennsylvania who was selected based on her performance on a qualifying test, according to Jay D’Ambrosio, an eighth-grade social studies teacher instructor at the...
Mohawk joins 6 other WPIAL teams in HSSN girls basketball state rankings
An old song had lyrics that proclaimed “one is the loneliest number.” That is true if you are the one team that got bumped in each class from the Trib HSSN state rankings. Four teams in each classification won their second-round PIAA playoff game last week and advanced to what...
Belle Vernon soccer standout Laurita flips college commitment to Georgia State
Nearly six months after announcing a verbal commitment to the University of Memphis to play soccer, former Belle Vernon Area star and Pittsburgh Riverhounds ECNL squad member Izzy Laurita flipped her commitment and will now be heading to Georgia State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference. “I was talking...
Yough softball returns 7 starters, expects championship-caliber season
Yough boasts one of the steadiest, most successful softball programs in the WPIAL, but the Cougars entered spring practice with an unusual feeling: skepticism. Seven starters return from a team that finished 13-6 last season, placed second to Mt. Pleasant in Section 1-4A and reached the WPIAL quarterfinals. But none...
Senior-heavy Yough baseball hopes to make run toward WPIAL title
Yough baseball is carrying a secret. The Cougars want outsiders to focus on what left the program, such as Pitt freshman Jarrett Bach, after last season and not on what is returning, which is six starters. “Everyone put our success last year on Bach,” senior pitcher/infielder Michael Bell said. “We...
Small businesses scramble to survive amid Pa.’s partial shutdown over coronavirus pandemic
A day after Gov. Tom Wolf imposed an order on all but “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close to thwart the spread of covid-19, local business owners across Western Pennsylvania are scrambling to gauge how the state’s unprecedented shutdown will impact them and navigating how to survive it. Wolf announced Friday night...
Gov. Wolf delays shutdown order; authorities unclear about enforcement
Western Pennsylvania authorities are seeking clarification on how they are supposed to enforce a mandate from Gov. Tom Wolf ordering myriad businesses across the state to shut down. The order affects all businesses deemed non-life-sustaining, and enforcement begins Monday at 8 a.m. It was supposed to start at 12:01 a.m....
Westmoreland business community weighs in on coronavirus restrictions, closuresVideo
In addition to coal production and car dealerships, law offices also were targeted for closure in Gov. Tom Wolf’s edict for non-life-sustaining businesses as part of efforts to slow the coronavirus pandemic. Some local firms, however, say they are needed — and aren’t closing. “I don’t think (Wolf) has the...
After down year, the Valley Vikings are looking to return to the playoffs
The Valley baseball team didn’t have one senior on the roster last season, and coach Jim Basilone and his underclassmen took some lumps, winning only five games. But the Vikings took their losses in stride and worked to improve every day. Now, they are hoping the down season will pay...
Penguins had a common appeal to Drew O’Connor, Cam LeeVideo
Drew O’Connor was a long shot to get here. Even he thought so. At a modest 5-foot-9 — by his estimates — after graduation from high school, O’Connor’s prospects for playing Division I hockey were, like him, small. He thought he might have to settle for playing for a Division...
Franklin Regional alum Spencer Lee finalist for Hodge Trophy
Spencer Lee won’t get to go for a three-peat at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, but he ended the season with a perfect record and that carries plenty of weight for candidates who are up for a national award. Lee, a junior 125-pounder at Iowa and a Franklin Regional...
‘Uncharted waters’: Funerals taking higher emotional toll amid coronavirus pandemic
Funeral services and viewings are designed to offer comfort and support to people grieving the deaths of loved ones. Navigating the process under coronavirus restrictions presents a unique challenge to mourners and to funeral homes serving them. “We’re in uncharted waters. Every day the game changes,” said Terry Graft, owner,...
Pittsburgh Langley staff member tests positive for coronavirus
A Pittsburgh Langley staff member has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Friday. The district announced early Wednesday that a staffer at Langley was being tested for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The district closed Langley’s grab-and-go lunches that day after learning of the...
Penguins partner with Giant Eagle, Primanti Bros. to aid arena, restaurant staffers
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced a partnership with Giant Eagle and Primanti Bros. to offer temporary employment opportunities to staffers at PPG Paints Arena and area restaurants impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This partnership will allow those individuals to pursue employment with area Giant Eagle locations. “Supermarkets, pharmacies and fuel...
California locks down 40 million as Europe’s health system buckles
California’s 40 million people were all but confined to their homes Friday in the nation’s biggest lockdown yet, as America’s governors watched with growing alarm as southern Europe buckled under the strain of the coronavirus outbreak. Gasping patients filled the wards of hospitals in Spain and Italy, and the global...
Chartiers Valley, Carlynton, Bishop Canevin baseball teams hitting pause
With the spread of coronavirus putting all levels of sports on hold across the globe, Chartiers Valley baseball coach Curt Cairns summed it up best when asked what his players are doing to get ready for the season — if it happens. “In this situation, there’s no playbook for a...
Pine-Richland School District extends closure to May 1
Citing the guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued on March 15 that people should not gather in groups larger than 50 for the next eight weeks, Pine-Richland School District announced following a special meeting of the school board on Friday that all schools will remain closed...
Allegheny Co. reports 10 new coronavirus cases, Westmoreland adds 2 as Pa. total rises to 268Video
Allegheny County reported 10 new coronavirus cases and Westmoreland County added two, according to information released Friday. The 10 new cases bring Allegheny County’s total to 28. Five of those are hospitalized and the rest are in isolation at home. Westmoreland County reported two new cases, for a total of...
10,000 sandwiches to be distributed in Oakmont on Monday
Thousands of sandwiches made of donated deli meat and cheese will be handed out Monday to people struggling for food in Oakmont during the coronavirus pandemic. Eric Chaffin, of the Chaffin Luhana Foundation, said he didn’t want to see kids go hungry as their schools closed in an effort to...
Highlands, Vincentian out, Cornell into the Trib HSSN state boys basketball rankings
This could be the latest state rankings following the second round of the PIAA postseason tournament, or this could be the final Trib HSSN boys rankings of the season. The state playoffs have been put on hold, much like everything else across the state and throughout the nation as the...
Letter to the editor: In praise of the DMV
When was the last time you heard someone praise the wisdom of the DMV? When I visited the Bridgeville DMV facility to secure a Real ID, I expected the worst: a three-hour wait for the painful experience of being told I didn’t have the right documents. To my delight, the...
Letter to the editor: Transparency vs. politics
The editorial “The people have a right to know” (March 2, TribLIVE) offers only one side of the story. I don’t disagree that the people have a right to know what their public officials are doing, but I think it’s important that they understand the entire scope of what an...
Letter to the editor: Electoral College is essential
Regarding Ron Slabe’s letter “Electoral College is archaic”: Any law, resolution or proposal to change the core process of our national election, especially one heavily sponsored (i.e., funded) by left-wing progressives, is something the electorate should strongly oppose. The left has a way of assigning nomenclature to disguise the purpose...
The Stroller, March 20, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Send cancellations to The Stroller The Stroller will publish news of cancellations and events that will still occur in the upcoming days. If your non-profit has to cancel or change an event or is helping members of the public, please send information to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood...
‘Sustainable gardening’ includes many eco-friendly practices
“Sustainable” is one of gardening’s trendiest buzzwords, yet it carries a range of definitions. Just what does it mean in practical terms, and how important is it to the average gardener? Very important, according to a recent plant trends study by horticulturalists with the University of Florida Institute of Food...
